Our plan tomorrow will be to attack for the whole 20 overs – Ryan ten Doeschate
The latest iteration of the T20 World Cup has witnessed quite a few teams coming in with extended batting line-ups - two of which are India and West Indies.
For the Islanders, Romario Shepherd has come into the equation at No.9, while for India, their batting goes until No.8, which adds significantly to the depth of both the units.
As India gear up for the upcoming challenge against West Indies where for both the sides, it is going to be a do-or-die clash, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate opened up profusely on the batting depth of the sides in the tournament and how the Men in Blue might confront them.
Talking in the pre-match presser, ten Doeschate said, “I don't think there's many line-ups that can boast of Romario Shepherd walking in at number nine. I think that's also a feature of all the teams in the tournament now. Certainly the teams that have done well. England bat really deep. New Zealand bats really deep. India bats really deep. We have the luxury of someone like Axar, if he doesn't come in early, coming in at eight."
Adding further on how India can cancel out West Indies’ depth, Ryan added, “So you have to focus on taking wickets. I think that old-school way of just containing for 20 overs has gone out of fashion. We feel West Indies play a risk-reward game of high proportion in both aspects of that. As a bowling unit, we're really looking forward to that challenge. We know there's chinks. There's where we can get wickets. Our plan tomorrow will be to attack for the whole 20 overs and take them back in that very much like South Africa did.”
He concluded by shedding light on the face-off between two T20I powerhouses, adding, “It's certainly going to be a challenge. The surface looks pretty good, so it could be a hard-scoring game. As well as throwing punches with the ball, we have to make sure that we're brave with the bat as well and maintain a high strike rate and high intent throughout the inning as well."
